


Family

by Kelticmoon



Series: Fixit Series compliant fics [12]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Pre-Relationship, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23109379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelticmoon/pseuds/Kelticmoon
Summary: The Paladins lose Keith and the Red Lion while retreating from an intense battle. They find them both on Caprine, home of the Ovis; a race of aliens that look like rams, and the Capra, a race of aliens that look like goats (both of whom walk on their hind legs. There’s just one problem.Keith has no idea who he or they are.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Fixit Series compliant fics [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1507331
Comments: 11
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *has both a twitter fic and an AO3 fic to finish as well as an actual book to write*  
> My Muse: What if Keith woke up on a strange planet with no memory of who he is or how he got there?  
> Me:...

Bo Woolsley is playing with her doll, Mr. Cuddlesworth outside the earthen farmhouse where she lives with Mama and Papa. Both she and her doll are black with black fleece all over their bodies, hooves on their feet and hands. However, Bo wears a red prairie dress with matching bows on each of her curled black horns and Mr. Cuddlesworth is wearing a linen shirt and trousers.

Suddenly, a red ball of fire appears in the sky catching Bo’s attention. As it falls from the sky, Bo hops off the fence she’s sitting on and runs as fast as her hooved feet could take her to the workshop.

“Papa! Mama! Come quick!”

Unlike Bo, Papa and Mama Woolsley are white with white fleece. Only Papa Woolsley has curled horns that are black like his daughter’s, and his are polished.

They immediately follow their daughter, knowing from her tone it’s something important.

They reach the fence in time to watch it crash into the center of one of their fields.

They rush to the crash site to find what looks like a ship shaped like a large, red cat.

Papa and Mama Woolsley manage to climb on top of its head and find a hatch that they then pry open. When they peak inside, they see the pilot is limp in their seat. They drop inside to check for a pulse and quickly find one. They quickly give him a look over and are struck by how young he is.

“Oh, the poor lambkin…” Mama Woolsley murmurs.

“We’d better get him back to the house quickly,” Papa Woolsley suggests. “That head injury looks pretty nasty.”

~

_Earlier_

~

“This fight isn’t going so well!” Hunk says over the coms.

Voltron takes another hit from the robeast they’re fighting that’s shaped like a wolf.

“Shiro, we’re not going to survive another hit like that!” Pidge informs them. “I seriously suggest a swift retreat.”

“Alright. Princess, we need a wormhole.”

“Getting one up now.”

A tic later, a blue wormhole ring opens.

Before they can enter the wormhole, they take a tremendous hit from behind that breaks Voltron apart.

“We’ll never get through that wormhole with them firing on us like this and there’s no time for us to get to our bays!” Lance exclaims.

“I’ll cover the retreat,” Keith states. “Red’s the only Lion fast enough to get through before it closes.”

Keith immediately draws and holds the robeast’s fire as the Castle enters the wormhole. Once the Castle and the other Lions are in the wormhole, Keith zips in after them.

Just as Keith’s about to enter the wormhole, the Red Lion takes a powerful hit.

“Argh!!”

The Red Lion’s eyes go dark as the hit knocks it out.

“Fuck! I’m hit!”

Shiro turns the Black Lion at SOS while continuing to follow the Castle. He looks back just in time to see the Red Lion disappear into the wall of the wormhole.

“KEITH!”

Before Shiro can go after him, they exit the wormhole.

“NO!”

Shiro practically runs to the bridge from Black’s bay.

“We have to go back for Keith!!”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible at the moment, Number 1,” Coran tells him sympathetically.

“The Castle was badly damaged in that fight and the secondary computer that operates the star map is down. The star map will not be operational until it is repaired.”

“How long will that take?!” Shiro asks the Altean Princess.

“It depends on the extent of the damage,” Pidge answers. “At best, three quintants.”

“And at worst?”

“A movement.”

Shiro gives the smallest Paladin the most crestfallen look she’s ever seen him make.

“But… Keith…”

Pidge and Hunk both give him a hug.

“Shiro, we promise we’ll get that computer up as quickly as we possibly can,” Hunk tells him.

As they start repairs, Shiro wanders to the observation deck and stares out at the space around them.

“Hang on, Keith…”

~

Meanwhile, Bo hasn’t left the young man’s side since Mama and Papa Woolsley brought him in.

The moment they got his helmet off, Bo had stared at him in wonder.

Unlike Bo and her parents, he has hair like the Capra that is entirely on the top of his head, but that isn’t what fascinates her about him though.

His hair is black like hers, but he’s hornless like Bo’s mother.

Bo quickly went with Mama to gather medicinal things while Papa undressed and bathed the young man. Then Papa and Mama treated his injuries and left him to rest in the spare bedroom.

That was three days ago.

Since then, Bo has been watching over the young man while Papa and Mama work the fields longer than usual.

Bo hears a groan from the bed and perks up to see the young man blink his eyes open.

He blinks them a few times before turning and spotting her.

“Er… hello,” he says.

“Hi, I’m Bo, and this is Mr. Cuddlesworth.”

Bo holds up her doll beside her.

Bo then plops her doll beside him on the bed as she jumps to her feet.

“I told Mama I’d tell her and Papa when you woke up.”

“Err…”

Before he can respond, Bo runs to the door and yells out it.

“Mama! Papa! He’s awake!”

The young man winces and rubs his head.

“Please don’t talk so loud…”

Bo puts a hoof over her mouth.

“Oops… sorry…”

Mama and Papa come in.

“Hello, wee lambkin. I’m Dolly Woolsley, this is my husband, Orion, and our daughter Bo. How are you feeling?” Mama asks.

“Head hurts pretty badly,” he tells her honestly.

“Not surprising. You had quite the head injury,” Papa tells him. “You fell from the sky. Can you tell us what happened?”

The young man thinks for a moment.

“I can’t remember…”

“Can you tell us your name at least?”

The young man thinks hard before growling.

“I can’t remember anything before waking up here!”

Mama sits on the bed beside him and hugs him.

“It’s alright, lambkin…” she soothes him.

Bo sees the young man tense at the sudden show of affection. After a few moments, he slowly closes the embrace.

“You hurt your head pretty badly,” Papa tells him. “Your memories may return in the coming days or weeks. In the meantime, you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need.”

“Thank you.”

~

In the following days, as the young man heals, Bo follows him around the farmhouse asking all kinds of questions about his hair and lack of horns. He answers them as best as he can, though she backs off when she notices he’s getting uncomfortable. Even then, she’s still his chattering shadow as he moves about the house.

He heals faster than any of them expected. However, even a week later, his memories still have yet to return.

Papa loans him some of his old clothes to wear while Mama happily sets an extra plate for him. By the start of the week next week, he’s fully recovered everything but his memories; much to his frustration.

“Give it time, lambkin…” Mama soothes him. "Forcing it will only give you another headache."

“How about Red?” Bo suggests.

They all look at her.

“Well, we have to call him something in the meantime, right? The clothes he was originally wearing had a lot of red on it. So, Red.”

The young man shrugs.

“I’m fine with being called Red.”

“Red it is then.”

~

That evening after dinner, as Mama and Papa are clearing off the table, Red approaches them.

“Can I help with anything?”

“You’re welcome to help me wash and dry the dishes while Mama and Bo check on the animals,” Papa tells him.

“Alright.”

Red looks at the Papa Woolsley as they wash the dishes.

“So… you said animals. Do you have a farm?”

“We do, though that isn’t our primary source of income.”

“So, what is?”

“The Mrs. is a blacksmith and I’m a carpenter.”

Red nods as they lapse into silence again.

As they silently wash and dry the remaining dishes, Red feels a sense of familiarity he can’t shake.

~

The following morning, Red comes downstairs to find Mama and Papa Woolsley, but no Bo.

“Where’s Bo?”

“She’s at school until midday. She stayed home from school last week to help take care of you,” Papa tells him. “If you’re here for longer than a month, we’ll enroll you as well. If you’d like, I could make you prosthetic horns so you won’t get hassled too badly.”

Red looks at him.

“Er… thanks?”

When Red finishes his breakfast, he brings his plate to the sink and washes it before drying it and putting it away.

“My, such good manners you have!” Mama remarks.

“Can I help with anything?” Red asks.

“As a matter of fact, we could use a hand feeding the animals.”

After helping them feed the animals they tend the fields before heading into the workshop. Red helps wherever they need him; from pumping the bellows for Mama to hold the wood for Papa to cut.

Keith is sitting on the fence rail eating lunch when he hears a commotion up the road.

He investigates and sees Bo getting picked on by some other kids that look similar, only their fleeces are white like Bo's parents and from the looks of it, only the males have horns the way Bo does.

“Freak!”

“Capra girl!”

“Weirdo!”

Red runs up as they start hitting and kicking Bo.

“HEY!”

The bullies run off when they hear Red coming.

Once he’s sure he chased them all off, he turns to see Bo’s not there anymore. It doesn’t take him long to find her huddled in the corner of a great big earthen barn beside the house. She's crying into the hooves on her hands.

Red sits down beside her in the barn and waits for her to talk to him on her time.

“Why did I have to be born different!” she eventually cries to him.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m an Ovis! A female Ovis and I have horns! Only female Capras have horns and theirs are smaller than mine. My fleece is also black instead of white like everyone else’s! It’s rare for either of us to be born with black hair or fleece!”

That explains the “Capra Girl” comment.

She sobs before continuing.

“Why did I have to be born different?! I want beautiful white fleece like my parents! I want to be hornless like I’m supposed to be! Why am I different!”

Red doesn’t know why, but he feels like he understands what it’s like to be different from everyone around you and not knowing why. As he concentrates on it, he remembers being bullied the way Bo just was.

“My hair’s black too,” Red says trying make Bo feel better.

Bo sniffles and looks up at him.

“I’m also a male and I don’t have horns.”

“I know…”

Red looks at her.

“That’s why you were so fascinated by my hair and lack of horns, isn’t it?”

Bo nods.

“I’ve never seen anyone even close to being similar to me.”

Red remembers being beaten up and learning how to defend himself because of it.

“Have you tried fighting back?”

“I don’t know how…”

“I’ll teach you a few moves if you’d like,” Red offers. “It won’t get you any friends, but it may scare off the bullies.”

Bo looks up at him starry eyed.

“Could you?”

“Of course.”

Bo hugs him.

“Thank you for standing up for me.”

Red smiles down at her and hugs her.

“Any time. In the meantime, why don’t I walk you to and from school every week?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The towns on Caprine are basically Old West towns with people who look like sheep and goats. Also, the Ovis and Capra talk with Scots-Irish accents.

The following morning, Red gets up earlier so he can walk Bo to school.

"As a matter of fact, I need to drop off some things in town and I need to do some shopping," Mama Woolsley tells him.

So the three of them load up a wagon with various wood and metal goods as Papa hitches up two large beast of burden animals that walk on two long legs with feathers and a long neck with a beak.

Before leaving, while Bo is inside getting her school bag, Papa places a unique hat on Red's head that covers his ears and hair. Its has realistic wood horns that stick out from each side of his head, ears similar to the Woolsleys (with holes hidden by each ear so he can hear without anyone seeing his ears), and what looks like artificial black fleece on top like what was used to make Mr. Cuddlesworth.

"What's this for?" Red asks.

"It's just a precaution," he answers him.

"If it's to stop me from being harassed like Bo, I'll be fine," Red says. "Besides, if she's gonna get harassed for having horns, I can be harassed for not having them."

"It's not that; though if I could have made something like this for Bo, I would have years ago... Just... humor an old Ovis, alright? The fewer questions you draw, the better at the moment. I'll explain another time. I did keep your fleece black like Bo's since you seem to have bonded over it."

Red hesitates but accepts it nonetheless.

Bo returns then and they set off for town.

They get there and as they're riding along the main street into town, Red sees all kinds of shops, businesses, and storefronts.

There's a sheriff's office and jail, a bank, a barbershop, tailor, and a post office to name a few. In the center of town is a fork in the road with the courthouse across from the general store with a hotel and saloon in the center part of the fork. The fork splits in two directions. One direction leads to a pair of schools and the other leads to a train station. Standing high and proud above the town is a water tower.

All throughout the town, Red sees all manner of people dressed similar to the Woolsleys. Half of them look similar to the Woolsleys so they must be Ovis, which means the other half are Capra. Unlike the Ovis, Capra men and women both have horns, just like Bo said. He sees some younger Ovis and Capra and notices his horns are about the average size for an Ovis about his age.

The only thing that doesn't look like it belongs is the large, black and purple metallic structure Red sees beyond the train station as well as black robots with weird purple symbols on them.

"Hey what's that over there?" Red asks. "And what are they?"

"You pay no mind to them, lambkin. Just a nuisance."

They stop in front of the general store. Red helps Bo down as Mama unloads the cart.

A small group of 4 ladies approach Mama Woolsley; two Ovis with white fleece like Mama's and two Capra; one with brown and white hair and the other with solid tan hair. All four of them wear a prairie dress like Mama's but in different colors. Mama's is red, the Ovis ladies are wearing green and blue, and the Capra ladies wear purple and yellow respectively.

"Dolly! So good to see you in town, dear!"

Mama looks at them.

"Clover! Bella! Sable! Heidi! Good morning to you, ladies."

"And good morning to you, Bo," one of the Ovis ladies greets.

Bo curtsies politely.

"Good morning to you."

Bo walks around to the tailgate of the wagon to get her school bag.

"And who is this young man?" the other Ovis lady asks.

"This is my nephew, Red. One of my husband's sisters passed away recently and he's been sent to live with us for a time."

"I'll not ask which sister," an Ovis jokes to keep the conversation lighthearted. "He's one of what? 24?"

"26, to be exact."

Red blinks at the blatant lie, but his instincts tell him to play along, just like with the hat.

"Its nice to meet you, Red. We're sorry for your loss," the brown and white Capra lady in purple says before introducing herself and the other ladies. "My name is Sable, this is Heidi (the other Capra), Clover (the Ovis in green), and Bella (the Ovis in blue)."

"Thank you ma'am. Good morning, ladies."

"My! Such manners!" Clover commends. "I don't think I've ever heard your accent before, but I've never been outside Aries so I haven't heard many."

"How nice it must be for Bo to have another in the family with black fleece," Bella remarks.

"Oh, she practically hasn't left his side since he got here."

Red looks a little confused.

"I wasn't expecting such acceptance after what I saw yesterday."

Mama looks at the ladies and explains.

"A number of the children were harassing Bo on her way home from school yesterday."

The two Ovis gasp.

"Again."

"Were there rocks this time?"

Mama shakes her head.

"Red scared them off before it got to that point, thankfully. It is why he offered to walk her to and from school today."

"How noble of you!" Heidi comments.

"And sadly not surprising," Clover tells him. "If you learn their names, do tell us so we can inform their mothers. We Ovis don't promote such behavior, but kids will be kids."

Bo returns then.

"Speaking of schools, Bo why don't you show Red where the school is."

Bo takes Red's hand in her own and leads him up the road all the other youngsters are heading down.

As they walk, Bo chatters on and on about all the things in town and who lives where and does what. Several times, Red sees others look at them and talk behind their hands.

"Word travels fast," Bo tells him when she sees where he's looking.

Red spots a group of younger kids in the schoolyard.

"Bo, are those the kids from yesterday?"

Bo looks.

"That's them. Their names are Petunia, Button, Twinkle, Rocky, Rufus, and Basil."

"Does anyone else have their names?"

"Nope. Basil is Clover's son and Button is Bella's daughter. Petunia's parents run the general store, Twinkle's parents run the hotel and saloon, and Rocky and Rufus' parents are tailors."

Red makes a mental note as they enter the schoolyard. He sees the bullies take a step toward Bo before stopping in their tracks when they see Red.

"I'll pick you up when school ends."

Bo hugs Red before running inside the school.

Red looks the children dead in their eyes as he walks back to the general store.

When he gets back, Mama is still talking with the ladies.

Mama smiles at him.

"Everything go alright?"

Red looks at Clover and Bella.

"Basil and Button are two of the kids from yesterday."

Neither of them looks surprised.

"If they're involved, I already know who the others are," Clover tells him.

Bella looks at Red.

"We thank you for telling us. Not sure what more we can do beyond what we're already doing."

"You could teach her to defend herself," Sable suggests.

"Dear Sable, you mean well, but Ovis girls aren't supposed to fight the way Capra girls do," Bella reminds her kindly.

"They're not supposed to have horns either, but Bo has that going for her," Red points out politely. "If they're going to call her one like its an insult, she may as well fight like one."

Heidi laughs.

"I like you, young one."

At that moment, a commotion draws their eyes to the courthouse as a large purple man with fur on the sides of his face and armor like the robots stands on the platform in front. At his sides are other soldiers along with robots. He starts to speak loudly.

"Any information on the whereabouts of the Red Lion or its Paladin will be greatly rewarded by Emperor Zarkon. Anyone caught harboring them will be executed on sight! Vrepit Sa!"

"Who?" Red asks.

"Nevermind, lambkin. Help me finish loading up. Its time we return home to help Papa."

~

Over the next several weeks, Red walks Bo to and from school. When they get home in the afternoon, he teaches her how to protect herself with both her own hoofs and other objects she might readily have on hand. The more he teaches her, the more confident she becomes.

When Bo is at school, Red helps Mama and Papa in the shop. Papa teaches him how to sand wood effectively and how to build with it and whittle. How to mend an earthen roof and carve into wood. Mama shows him how to sharpen the blade on a plow and clean one. They both teach him to sew and cook. When Bo's home, she follows him about the house wherever he goes. When he's doing something, she's doing it right alongside him.

Red doesn't know why, but he feels like their attention is satisfying a hunger he didn't know he had. So even though he doesn't understand why, he drinks it all in like a man dying of thirst.

~

Eventually he starts going to school like Bo does. He goes to the school next-door to hers that teaches the other Ovis and Capra his age. The downside is, while they start at the same time, Red's school gets out later than Bo's so he can't walk her home.

"I can walk myself home now," Bo tells him confidently as they walk to school on his first day.

When they get there, Red sees a solid white Capra with no horns in a lavender dress with a white Capra doll who is also hornless wearing soldier armor.

"Who's she?" Red asks. "Haven't seen her before."

"I think she might be new. Papa told me a new Capra family was moving in up the road. Odd she doesn't have horns though."

"I'm guessing its rare?"

Bo nods.

"Its also rare for their hair to be solid white like that."

Red looks at her.

"Sounds like you two have something in common. Why don't you try to be friends with her?"

"I think I will."

Red stands back and watches her walk up to the new girl.

"Hi!"

The Capra looks up at her startled.

"Oh... hi," she says shyly.

"I'm Bo! What's your name?"

"Mary."

Bo pulls her own doll from her school bag.

"This is Mr. Cuddlesworth!"

Mary smiles shyly and holds up her own doll.

"Sir Truffles."

"Wanna play?"

Mary nods shyly and the two play.

Satisfied the girls will be fine, Red goes to his own school.

He walks in and meets a male Capra with white hair like Mary's, though he has horns.

"I saw you out there with my sister, Mary," he comments. "It was nice of you to encourage them to be friends. Mary's a bit shy, but she's really sweet."

Red shrugs.

"I figured if anyone could understand a white hornless Capra girl its a black Ovis girl with horns."

The Capra looks at Red.

"I'm Ramsey."

"Red."

The teacher starts class and asks him and Ramsey to stand and introduce themselves to the class. Afterward, they're given seats next to each other as school starts. By the time they have their first break, they're fast friends.

"Hey, do you know anything about that building over there?" Red asks Ramsey.

Ramsey looks at him.

"Those are the invaders. They've been here for centuries. They would have destroyed us like other planets they've invaded, had our resources not proved beneficial to them. But there's hope."

Red turns his head.

"What do you mean?"

Ramsey looks around before lowing his voice.

"Word is a Paladin of Voltron crashed their Lion here about a month ago."

Red blinks.

"What's Voltron?"

"Our best hope for liberation from the invaders. The invaders have been looking nonstop for them with no success. Now they're turning to us for help, but I'll tell you this. No Ovis or Capra would dare betray a Paladin of Voltron. If there is a Voltron Lion here, it will likely bring the other Paladins as well. We just have to wait patiently."

By the end of the day, Red has made a whole bunch of friends.

~

Later that night after dinner, Red is reading Bo to sleep in her room while Mama and Papa silently watch them from the hall.

"It really is sweet watching them together," Mama remarks.

"He really has done wonders for Bo's confidence. She made a friend at school today," Papa points out.

Mama looks at Papa.

"We always prayed for a son. Perhaps this is the answer to our prayers."

Bo snuggles into Red's side and mumbles as she falls asleep.

"I always wanted a brother..."

Red smiles down at her before turning out the light and rests with his arm around her. As he watches her sleep, he thinks about the past month he's lived here. Somehow, he feels like this is all new for him. A family, friends, a home.

But its a good new.

He feels like this is something he's longed for, even if he doesn't know why. Despite still not having his memories, he feels happy here. Possibly happier than he's ever been.

Maybe...

Maybe its ok that his memories haven't returned...

He has a life here...

A good life...

Maybe...

Maybe that's all he needs...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Minor time jump. Also, in case anyone forgot, a baby goat is called a kid)

Finally, after 5 quintants the repairs to the Castle were completed enough to not only use the star map, but also the teludav.

Since Coran and Allura can do the rest of the repairs themselves, they decide to send the four Paladins ahead of the Castle to find Keith and the Red Lion and remain there until Allura and Coran can join them.

Allura steps up onto the platform and activates the star map to search for the Red Lion. After a moment, she finds it on a small planet orbiting just inside the inhabitable zone of its star.

“Well… this is interesting…” Coran remarks.

“What is?” Shiro asks.

“Well… it would appear Red crashed somewhere on Caprine, though we’re unable to find Red’s exact location…”

“Stop stalling, Coran. Get to the point.”

“Right… well… while it has only 5 quintants since we lost the Red Lion, due to the speed at which Caprine orbits its star combined with how fast it spins, it’s been 5 phoebs.”

“So, Keith’s been alone on an alien planet for what he thinks is 5 months?!” Shiro asks.

“Oh, not alone! Caprine has intelligent life on it. Two races call it home; the Ovis and the Capra. They’re kind folks. If one of them found him, they will undoubtedly have taken care of him.”

“However, it is entirely possible for Caprine to be under Galra rule,” Allura reminds them.

“Then we have to move.”

Shiro looks at the orange haired Altean.

“Coran, send us the coordinates.”

Shiro looks at the others.

“Paladins, get to your Lions.”

As soon as the Paladins launch, Allura opens a wormhole and they fly through.

~

They exit the wormhole near one of the gas giants sitting on the outskirts of the solar system.

As they reach the planet before Caprine, Pidge runs a scan.

“There’s definitely Galra activity down there,” she tells them.

“Any sign of Red?”

“His signal is hard to pinpoint exactly, but the coordinates are near a town on a continent in the northern hemisphere of the planet.”

“Any Galra ships in orbit?”

“Negative. All Galra signatures are on the ground.”

Shiro radios the team.

“Can you tell what time of day it is there?”

“About mid-afternoon.”

“Paladins, let’s go down there and look around. Just try to lay low.”

“Coran said our civilian clothes should help us hide better. The air is breathable so we don’t need our helmets.”

As they’re landing, Lance zooms in on the town and its people before showing the others.

“This place looks like an old western movie that was written by a furry.”

A notification goes off in Yellow.

“Hey, Yellow found evidence of a crash.”

“Let’s land there then.”

They land at the beginning of the crash site and follow it until it comes to a large earthen barn with a lock on the door and a large sign reading “NO TRESPASSING”.

“Now what?” Hunk asks. “I don’t want to trespass on someone’s property.”

“The town was that way when we were landing,” Pidge asks. “Let’s head that way and see if we find out who owns this.”

They head for the town and they’re almost there when they hear a commotion up the road. They investigate and find two children getting picked on by a bunch of other children.

They’re both female, but one looks like a black lamb with black ramhorns on her head while the other looks like a white kid with no horns. The group of kids around them all look like sheep and goats too, but the sheep ones are all white with only the boys having horns and the goat ones all have horns and are every color but white or solid black. The white goat-like girl is hiding behind the black sheep-like girl.

“Just leave us alone!” the black sheep says.

“Or what, Freaks?!”

The bullies all attack them, but before the Paladins can intervene, the little black sheep handles them herself. One by one, she takes out each of the bullies while the Paladins stare.

“I know those moves…” Shiro mutters to himself as he watches.

Eventually all the bullies are on the ground.

“Now get lost!”

The bullies all run away.

The sheep girl turns to the goat girl.

“Are you ok, Mary?”

“I’m fine, Bo.”

Curiosity gets the better of Shiro.

“Hey…”

Bo immediately startles into a fighting stance with Mary cowering behind her. Bo immediately stops and drops her guard when she sees the four of them and immediately walks up to them curiously.

“Who are you?” she asks.

Shiro introduces them.

Bo stares at them before a moment before understanding dawns.

“You’re looking for someone, aren’t you?”

“Two someones, actually.” Pidge tells her. “One’s a person who looks like us, the other is a giant red cat.”

“Let me take you to Mama and Papa.”

As they walk back toward the earthen barn, Shiro looks at Bo.

“Who taught you to fight like that?”

“My brother, Red.”

They get to the gate for an earthen farmhouse they passed next to another earthen barn.

Bo turns to Mary.

“Do you think you can get home safe from here? I think I scared off all the bullies.”

Mary nods.

“See you tomorrow, Bo.”

Mary continues down the road. Bo waits until she’s out of sight before calling out.

“Mama! Papa! We have visitors!”

Two adults with white fleece leave the earthen farmhouse; clearly her parents.

They stop when they see Shiro and the others.

“You must be looking for Red,” the male states.

The female looks at them.

“Come in, please!”

They’re lead inside where they’re sat down in a living room and given tea and biscuits.

“Thank you!” Hunk tells her.

“My! Such manners! Just like Red,” she remarks.

Bo steps up to introducing them.

“I’m Bo Woolsley and these are my Mama and Papa.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shiro says before introducing himself and the others.

“I’m assuming you’re looking for the Red Lion and her Paladin?” Mama asks.

“We are. Can you help us?” Pidge asks.

“I can take you to your Red Lion, but I’m afraid there’s a complication.”

“Are you talking about the Galra here?” Lance asks Papa. “Because we can take care of that for you.”

“That would be appreciated, but that’s not the issue,” Mama tells them.

At that moment, they hear the door close.

“Mama! Papa! Bo! I’m home!”

Shiro immediately perks up at the voice.

“We’re in here, lambkin! We have visitors.” Mama calls back.

Lance snorts before getting elbowed by Hunk as they hear footsteps.

Shiro moves to stand, but Pidge stops him. A second later, Keith runs into the room wearing what looks like fake horns and ears.

“Mama! Papa! I aced my test today!”

Mama Woolsley smiles warmly at Keith.

“I knew you’d do well, lambkin.”

Shiro stares stunned as he looks Keith over.

Apart from his clothes and such required to blend in, Keith looks perfectly fine. So what’s the problem?

Keith spots the other Paladins then and genuinely smiles at them.

“You must be the visitors! I’m Red. Who are you?”

The air in Shiro’s lungs freeze.

Why is he?

Oh…

Oh, no…

Bo runs to Red excitedly.

“Red! I fought off the bullies! Just like you taught me!”

Red looks down at her enthusiastically.

“I heard! Good job, Bo!”

Mama motions to Papa to stay with Red and Bo before leading the four Paladins out the door to the fields.

“That’s the complication you mentioned, isn’t it?” Shiro asks as Mama leads them back toward the crash site.

Mama nods.

“Several months ago, a ball of fire fell from the sky into one of our fields. When we went to look, we found a large red cat with a young man inside,” Papa explained.

“Keith and the Red Lion.”

“Is that his true name?” Mama asks Shiro.

Shiro nods.

“Red hit his head really badly in the crash. When he awoke, he had no memory of who he is or how he got here.”

“Amnesia…” Pidge supplies.

“Since then he’s recovered bits and pieces of his childhood but is still unable to recall his name or anything from the beginning of his adolescence until the moment he woke up here. It caused great frustration to him at first, but now I believe he’s accepted that it may never return. Eventually we stopped asking.”

They reach the large earthen barn and Mama opens the door. Sitting inside is the Red Lion.

“My husband and I have protected them both as best we could.”

Shiro looks at her amiably.

“We thank you for that. It’s good that Keith’s with such kind people. We’ll leave Red here until the Castle arrives.”

“To be fair, it was as much in our own best interest to protect them as it is yours,” Mama says as they head back to the house. “We knew if we hid them long enough, eventually the remaining Paladins would come and help us. To put it plainly, we’ve been under Galra rule so long, none can remember a time when we weren’t.”

“Well, we’re gonna change that!” Lance boasts.

They get back to the house then.

“You’re all welcome to stay the night if you’d like.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

The entire night they stay, while the others make conversation with the Woolsleys, Shiro silently watches Keith with them. He watches Keith help Mama set the table while excitedly talk her about his day, then at dinner Keith listens intently as Bo tells a wildly exaggerated story about how she protected Mary by fighting off the bullies earlier. After dinner, he and Papa clean up and wash the dishes together while the others help Mama and Bo feed the animals.

It’s so normal and Keith is so happy.

So why does Shiro’s chest ache so much watching them?

The next morning as they eat breakfast, as he watches Keith laugh and smile and talk more than he ever has with anyone other than Shiro, Shiro knows why and he makes the hardest decision he's ever had to make.

Keith is helping Papa build what looks like a clock in the workshop as they’re leaving.

“We’ll just get K…”

“Our Lions!”

The other Paladins quietly look at Shiro as he continues.

“We’ll go get our Lions and investigate the Galra building nearby. Hopefully we’ll be able to take it out on our own before the Castle gets here.”

Mama nods approvingly before going to feed the animals.

Shiro starts walking back toward where they hid the Lions.

“Shiro, are you sure you want to do this?” Pidge asks him gently.

It doesn’t surprise him that Pidge is the first to catch on.

“Yeah… I’m sure,” Shiro tells her as his chest aches.

“You two want to share something with the class?” Lance asks.

“Keith’s not coming with us…” Pidge answers for Shiro as the oldest Paladin feels like his chest is caving in hearing it said out loud. “Now or when we leave here with the Castle.”

Hunk looks at Shiro.

“You’re gonna just leave Keith here?”

Shiro swallows and steels himself.

“I am.”

“Say what? Why? I mean, I’m glad you want to leave the emo here but…”

“I don’t WANT any of this!” Shiro snaps at Lance.

The other Paladins are silent as he composes himself a minute before repeating.

“No one wants this, Lance. But what we want and what’s best for Keith are two different things right now. He doesn’t remember who we are or the Garrison or even becoming a Paladin. He remembers being alone and lonely and unwanted and here he is in a place where he’s not only happy but wanted and loved in a way that Keith’s been yearning for his entire life. Sometimes in life you have to put what’s best for others over what you want.”

Shiro turns from them and walks toward the Black Lion, leaving three stunned Paladins in his wake.

A lone tear rolls down his face as he gets to his Lion.

He knows he’s doing what's best for Keith.

He knows that.

So why does it hurt so much?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if this feels rushed, but I'm trying to finish all my WIPs so I can focus more on my book when I'm not helping my son through the self-isolating right now.

“Why in the heck are the Galra here anyway?” Lance asks a few hours later.

“I think its imperative we find that out,” Shiro says. “Let’s investigate that Galra building.”

When they get to the building they immediately encounter a group of Galra drones. Before the others can move, Shiro has already ripped through them like its nothing before continuing onward

This happens the entire time they’re making their way through the building.

The other Paladins look at one another silently as they follow Shiro.

Since leaving the Woolsleys, Shiro’s been more mission driven than before. They didn’t realize how much Keith’s presence calms Shiro until this moment.

They get to the central room to find an assembly line with what looks like the armor the empire wears.

“Holy crow… Do you think they make all their armor on this planet?” Lance asks.

“More likely this is just one of them,” Pidge tells him. “Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t destroy it.”

“Why isn’t it better guarded?”

An alarm goes off on Pidge’s armor.

She gasps.

“Because they’re in the town!”

Shiro’s blood freezes when Pidge shows him the image of the nearby town and he sees two black specks in the sea of white where the Ovis are.

“We have to move!”

~

In the town, Red and his family have been pulled from their homes by the purple cat people and brought to the town square. Nearly all of the Ovis are terrified while all of the Capra look ready to fight. The sun is high in the sky over them as the purple cat people hold them at gun point.

The purple cat person in charge walks up and down the crowd.

“Now, we’ve given you all more than enough chances to do the right thing and hand over the Red Lion and her Paladin, yet none of you have come forward. And now, because of that, the remaining 4 Lions and their Paladins have been spotted.”

A rumble of whispers goes through the crowd at that.

“We will kill every last one of you one by one until someone hands them over.”

Silence.

"Maybe this will make you cooperate more."

Then, of all the people for him to grab out of the crowd of hundreds, the ones they grab are Bo and Mary.

Mary is visibly shaking in fear while Bo is trying to throw hooves at the guy holding her.

“Lemme go you big dummy!”

“What even is that?” asks the purple cat alien holding Mary.

“It’s a chokehold! Come here and I’ll demonstrate!”

The alien holding Bo is suddenly hit with a rifle blast that knocks Bo out of his hand. Bo immediately runs up and kicks the one holding Mary in the shin. He drops Mary and Bo pulls her off to the side.

They all turn and see four figures standing on the other end of the square. Red recognizes them as the people who stayed with them last night. Mama said they were Paladins.

The Blue Paladin has his rifle raised to his eye with the Black Paladin to his right followed by the Green and Yellow Paladin. All but the Black Paladin has a weapon out.

The Black Paladin steps forward.

“You wanted us, here we are. Now let them go.”

“I knew you’d come running if we threatened the prisoners. Your kind has the weakness of caring for others.”

He then looks at his followers and sentries.

“Galra! Attack!”

“Vrepit Sa!”

While the Galra are distracted fighting the Paladins, Papa motions for the Ovis and Capra children, as well as adult Ovis to quietly move inside the nearby shops while the adult Capra cover them, the adult Ovis and Red follow. From the doorway of the shop he’s hiding in with Mary and Ramsey they watch the fight. The fight is going well, but the Paladins are outnumbered 10 to 1 with the Black Paladin fighting the Galra in charge.

Just then, the Black Paladin thrown to the ground.

“They need help,” Red observes.

A blur of black rushes out of a nearby shop and rocks are flying through the air at the Galra fighting the Black Paladin.

Red gasps when he sees its Bo.

In her hand is a red version of the weapons the Paladins are using, only hers has taken the form of what looks like a slingshot.

“What the…”

While they’re distracted, she plants herself in front of the Black Paladin, who just blinks stunned at the weapon in her hand.

“Baaack off!” Bo yells at the Galra.

Red stares at the way Bo is standing in front of the Black Paladin. The sight is stirring something in the back of his mind that he can’t quite place and its nagging him.

As he stares at the Black Paladin on the ground behind her, suddenly the instinct to protect him hits.

Red glances around until he spots a large hitch chain.

~

The Galra laughs.

“What’s this? A prisoner who thinks she can fight a Galra?”

As he moves to attack them, a chain with a hook on the end wraps itself around his arm, holding it back.

Shiro looks and sees Keith, complete with false horns and ears, on the other end of it.

“Pick on someone your own size!”

The Galra laughs again before yanking his arm forward that sends Keith flying.

~

When Red lands inside a merchant stall, his head hits something hard.

Red gasps when he lands and holds his head. Tears roll down his face as he feels a torrent of memories come flooding back to him all at once.

His name.

His childhood.

His Dad.

The Garrison.

Becoming a Paladin.

Shiro.

Keith blinks his eyes open.

“Shiro…”

Keith looks up and looks around to see he was thrown into the shop that sells all the farm tools. He looks up and sees that in the time it took him to come to, the Galra has disarmed Bo and thrown the Red Bayard aside. Keith pulls his hat off and stands holding it in his hand. He looks where the Red Bayard sits between him and them.

~

Shiro watches as the Galra before him lifts Bo off the ground. He’s just about to put his fist through the Galra’s chest when a large red sword comes flying across the battlefield and hits the Galra commander square in the chest, going clean through his armor.

Shiro looks and sees Keith standing where he’d been thrown; his false horns in one hand. He’d be happy were it not for the tear streaks running down Keith’s face.

The Galra commander immediately drops Bo and pulls the sword from his chest before dropping to his knees. He then points at Keith and utters one final command before falling to the ground dead.

“Kill him… Victory… or Death…”

All of the sentries and underlings turn and run at Keith.

Suddenly, the Capra adults erupt out of the shops around them and attack. Shiro immediately gets up and starts joins the fray.

Soon, all the sentries and remaining Galra are defeated.

“Now what?” Hunk asks.

Keith steps forward.

“There are other Galra facilities like this across the planet. They need to be taken out.”

At that moment, the Castle of Lions appears in the sky.

“Coran and Allura! They’re here!” Pidge exclaims.

Shiro steps up.

“Let’s get those facilities taken care of.”

“Just give me a minute to get my Lion and I’ll join you,” Keith tells them before leaving.

~

They quickly make short work of taking out the other Galra buildings before heading back. When they get back, they all eat dinner with the Woolsleys one last time; this time with Coran and Allura present.

Bo asks Allura and Hunk questions about their dark skin tones, but the person she sticks to like a bur is Pidge.

She’s following Pidge around the house asking the same kinds of questions she asked Keith when he first arrived. It occurs to Keith that just like with him, this is the first time Bo has ever met someone who is a girl but carries themselves like a boy while still calling themselves a girl. It never occurred to Bo that it was ok for her to be a girl Ovis with horns like a boy Ovis. Keith has to admit, Pidge is being remarkably patient with her; even if he can tell she's a little uncomfortable.

The following morning at sunrise Keith is sitting on the ground leaning against Red’s paw when Papa and Mama approach him.

“How are you feeling, lambkin?” Mama asks as they sit with him.

“I don’t know how to answer that… a part of me doesn’t want to leave…”

“That is to be expected,” Papa tells him.

“But there’s a war out there that needs to end. And I’m one of the few who can stop it.”

Keith looks at them.

“I wish you were my parents. My dad died so long ago, I barely remember what he looks like.”

Papa thinks for a moment before speaking.

“Our people have a belief that all life in this universe originates from the same place it returns to upon death. A death on one planet is then used to bring about life on another. Perhaps it’s your father’s death that created me. Perhaps that’s why we were the ones chosen to protect and care for you when you needed it.”

“On Earth, where I’m from, we have similar beliefs,” Keith tells him. “Never really put much thought into it.”

“You may not be blood related, but you’re still family to us,” Mama tells him.

The three of them hug. When they pull away, Papa looks down at Keith.

“Don’t forget to say goodbye to Bo before you leave,” Papa tells him.

“Where is she?”

Papa and Mama point at the fence by the house where a lone silhouette sits.

Keith walks over and leans on the fence.

“So… you’re leaving?” Bo asks.

“Afraid I have to, Bo.”

Bo looks at Keith.

“Promise me you’ll come visit when the war is over.”

Keith smiles back at her.

“Promise. In the meantime, I made you something while I was clearing the Galra out of here.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a brand new wooden slingshot.

“Use it well.”

Bo hugs Keith then.

“I’m gonna miss you.”

Keith silently hugs her back just as tight.

~

YEARS LATER

~

Shiro and Keith are standing side by side on Atlas’ bridge, Keith’s hand tucked safely inside Shiro’s.

On their left hands are a pair of luxite rings.

“We’ve arrived in Caprine’s star system, Captain,” Iverson tells him.

“How much longer until we arrive?”

“Approximately 10 doboshes.”

“Thank you, Iverson. Bring us down at the coordinates I gave you. Tell the crew they have free reign, but be respectful.”

“Yes Captain.”

Keith and Shiro enter the lift together and head down to the promenade deck.

“Hey, Shiro?”

“Hmm?”

Shiro looks down at the man at his side.

“Last time we were here. You were planning to leave me here, weren’t you?”

Shiro tenses for a moment.

“Keith, I…”

Before he finishes, Keith silences him with a kiss. When he pulls back, there’s no anger or judgement.

“I’m not mad; I just want to know why you came to that decision?”

Shiro holds Keith’s hand to his heart as he looks the younger man.

“Keith, at that time, I had only ever seen you that happy with me; and even then it always felt like there was some kind of dark cloud hidden behind that happiness. I know now what that was, but back then all I saw was that you were happier than I'd ever seen. I knew how much you had longed for a family. I hated the thought of leaving you there, but as much as it hurt to do it, I would have done everything in my power to preserve that happiness for you. Like Lance said, if anyone deserves that kind of happiness, its you.”

Keith snuggles into Shiro’s shoulder as they lapse into silence.

“What if they don’t like me now?”

Shiro looks down at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, back then none of us knew I was part Galra. Now I not only have my half-Galra mom, but a part Galra sister and an adopted brother who happens to not only be half-Galra but also the Emperor of the Galra.”

Shiro kisses Keith forehead as the lift reaches the promenade.

“Worry about that if and when it happens. I doubt it will matter though.”

~

Down on the ground, Bo is sitting on the fence rail outside her earthen home mid-afternoon.

She’s a young adult now of about 19 deca-phoebs with her curled horns polished with pride. Sitting beside her on the rail with her hand in Bo’s is a full grown Mary in a pretty lavender dress. Unlike Mary however, Bo is wearing a linen shirt and trousers. Playing at their feet are a couple of children.

Since the day Keith left, it had become their nightly ritual to watch the sunset each night and then the skies before having to go to bed. As they grew, so did their friendship until they began to court one another. Now they’re living together happily in a house on land between their parents’ farms with two children they've taken in; a Capra girl who was born with only a single horn and an Ovis boy who was born with no horns at all.

She hears the loud boom Pidge had told her to listen for and eagerly looks up to see a large ship descending through the sky. She runs straight to her parents’ house but meets them outside.

“Mama! Papa!”

“We heard!”

They run in the direction the ship lands and find it landed near the former Galra factory.

Bo gets to the hill before anyone.

At first she just stares at the two men standing on the hill together talking amiably with a small group of Galra and an Altean from the looks of it. They look different now. Shiro’s hair is as white as Mary’s is and Keith now has a splash of white in his hair around his face and marks on his face like the Galra standing next to him, but Bo sees the red and black uniforms and immediately knows its them.

“Keith!”

Keith turns and is blown away by how much Bo grew in his time away as she runs toward him with her family behind her.

Nonetheless, Keith runs and meets her halfway.

“I missed you so much!” Bo cries.

When Keith pulls away, Mama and Papa Woolsley are reaching them.

Keith immediately hugs them both before stepping back as Krolia approaches them.

“Er… Mama and Papa Woolsley,” Keith begins nervously. “Meet Krolia. She’s my mother.”

Mama and Papa immediately give her a genuine smile as Krolia meets them.

“Keith’s told me much about you both. Thank you for taking care of him while you did.”

“We’re happy to meet you!” Mama greets her. “I’m Dolly and this is Orion.”

“Does this mean the war’s over?” Papa asks.

“Just came out of the final battle,” Keith tells them. “That’s actually why we’re here at the moment.”

“The Atlas crew needs a place to rest and recover after that battle,” Shiro tells them. “Most of the Coalition stayed on Dionysis, but for Atlas and her crew, we needed somewhere a little more earthlike so we can rest and recover.”

The remaining Paladins walk up then including a man who looks just like Shiro, but with a rounder face and brown eyes.

“Oh, wee lambkin!”

Mama Woolsley apparently knows someone who is grieving when she sees it because she makes a beeline for Allura and pulls her into a motherly hug. While Allura isn’t crying right now, it’s very clear that she has been a great deal. Keith is genuinely surprised Allura hasn’t burst into tears from it, but she does hug Mama Woolsley back tightly.

"Oh, hey I almost forgot. You know that belief you guys have about a place where life comes from and goes to?"

The Woolsleys and Mary all nod.

Keith grins.

"It exists. Its a real place. I've been there. Twice. Its called the Universal Cauldron."

"Really?!" Bo exclaims.

"We were all there to," Hunk confirms.

The Woolsleys immediately invite the Paladins and Keith’s family to dinner while the Atlas crew meets the other natives. As they catch up, Keith tells them about the other places he's been and the things he's seen.

When they go to bed for the night, Keith smiles as he falls asleep.

He always wanted a big family.

And now he has one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic is now part of my Fixit series canon. If you've read it, you know why Allura's grieving. If you haven't read it yet, please do. Its my proudest work.  
> Bo and Mary's relationship is a play off of Mary Had a Little Lamb


End file.
